Hayden  Hayden senior Chad Terry said the opportunity to wrestle in front of home fans comes so rarely, he couldn’t pass it up.

“I wanted to put one on for Hayden since they haven’t seen me wrestle here in awhile,” said the three-time Class 2A state semifinalist.

Soroco senior Tristan Palyo did his best to throw a wrench in Terry’s plans, but he could only delay what was a fine night for the standout Tiger. Terry won a tight match against Palyo, 7-4, then cruised to a victory in his second match, against Steamboat’s Guerin Lewis, putting his own stamp on what was a big night for local wrestlers with a perfect 2-0 record.

“I’m just looking forward to regionals and state,” Terry said. “I hope I can pull one out there and make this a great year.”

Team scores weren’t kept in what on Thursday was a four-team free-for-all, but wrestlers from Hayden, Soroco, Steamboat Springs and Meeker took turns battling it out in front of the packed bleachers at Hayden High School.

Each squad came away with plenty to be proud of and, as the season nears its final leg, plenty to work on.

Soroco’s best win came from veteran 106-pounder Lauryn Bruggink, who pulled out an important win against Meeker’s Tristin Pelloni. The match was close throughout and tied late until Bruggink took a 1-point lead with an escape at the end of the second period. Two takedowns in the third period then gave her breathing room for a 7-5 victory.

“We saw some good things and some things to work on,” Soroco coach Jay Whaley said. “It was a good night. Anytime you wrestle in Routt County, it’s a good night.”

Palyo also pieced together two good matches, the first of which was a close call against Terry and the second, a quick pin against Hayden freshman 152-pounder Taylor Lewis.

The Rams also got a win from Jaxon Ovard at 126 pounds.

Steamboat, meanwhile, didn’t actually wrestle the Rams but did just fine against the opponents it did draw. Junior Nathan Parks flexed his muscles at 120 pounds, earning a first-period pin against Hayden’s Kaiden Decker. Junior Casey Williams beat Lewis in a tough match, 8-4. Connor O’Brien earned two quick pins at 160 pounds, and Brandon Yeager and Cole Sittig each had one at 195 and 220 pounds, respectively. Dane Koepfer, at 132 pounds, also pulled in a victory.

“Nathan’s come a long way. This is only his third year wrestling, and he’s really starting to get confidence in what he’s doing,” Steamboat coach Shane Yeager said. “They were all executing their moves. They did pretty good considering half the team’s sick. We had to leave three kids at home.”

It was the Tigers’ show, though, and they relished the roll on their home mats.

T-Lane Mazzola won his only match, 5-1. Journey Vreeman won twice, once with a pin and another match, 6-3. Freshman Tanner Guire went 2-0 at 106 pounds. Decker earned a win at 132, and Tyler Paxton at 138. Freshman Kent Miller, meanwhile, took care of business at 113 pounds, earning a first-period pin in his first match.

“There are a couple things I need to improve on, but overall, it was pretty good,” Miller said. “I want to make it to state, and my second goal is to place there. I need to take it up a notch and try to work harder toward those goals.”